News

I’ve Got Phil Martelli Jr. and the Bryant Bulldogs Winning it All

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Mar 17th, 2025 · 2:59 PM EDT

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This is the third season in a row that the six teams comprising the Philadelphia Big 5 failed to make the NCAA Tournament. And with Delaware and Princeton going down in their respective conference tournaments, there’s no regional program to pretend to care about.

So instead we look for local angles, and I’ll tell you what, I’m liking the Bryant Bulldogs out of the South regional!

My finished bracket is basically the four teams I hate the least:

The Bryant Bulldogs are led by Phil Martelli’s son, Phil Martelli Jr. Great story out of Smithfield, Rhode Island, where the Bulldogs won the America East for the first time since joining the conference in 2022. They won 23 games this year and had non-conference road wins against both Drexel and Delaware. They won 9 of 10 to finish the season and went 4-1 against second and third place finishers Vermont and Maine. That’s awesome baby!

Did you know that Martelli Jr. played for his dad back in the day? He rarely saw the floor, but he was a four-year St. Joe’s Hawk and graduated the season before they went on that huge run with Jameer Nelson and Delonte West. The younger Martelli went right into coaching, working his way up as an assistant with Central Connecticut, Manhattan, Niagara, and Delaware before a short stint with the Blue Coats, who were the 87ers back then. He returned to the college ranks with Bryant in 2018 and served as an assistant for a half-decade before Jared Grasso resigned, then became head coach in 2023. He’s won 20 games in back-to-back seasons and has a .642 winning percentage and 25-7 conference record.

Now he’s playing Tom Izzo and Michigan State in the first round. That’s pretty cool, and so is this story:

.@BryantHoops head coach Phil Martelli Jr on Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, who congratulated Martelli when it was learned he got the Bryant job pic.twitter.com/VE2dAZr59K

— Brendan McGair (@BWMcGair03) March 16, 2025

I dig it. Let’s go Bulldogs. I saw someone on Twitter call Martelli Jr. a “nepo baby,” but how many nepo babies spend 20 years climbing the ladder, only to finally get their shot with a powerhouse team like Bryant? Come, on man. Get on the Bulldog bandwagon. Who else are we supposed to cheer for? I’m jumping on ESPN Bet right now to sprinkle a few units on the Dawgs.